[QUOTE=nomead;523089]But XXXX isn't a number, so it can be trademarked ([URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlemaine_XXXX"]beer brand in Australia[/URL]) :smile::beer2:[/QUOTE]By rights this post ought to be in the dumb jokes thread, but given that my straight man has set the scene:

Why do Australians call their beer XXXX?

[SPOILER]Because they can't spell PISS.[/SPOILER]

[QUOTE=nomead;523089]But XXXX isn't a number, so it can be trademarked ([URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlemaine_XXXX"]beer brand in Australia[/URL]) :smile::beer2:[/QUOTE]You've got [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dos_Equis]Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery[/url] calling on line two...

[QUOTE=retina;523115]You might be in trouble if it is an [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_number"]illegal number[/URL], or an [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_prime"]illegal prime[/URL].[/QUOTE]
Hmm, is it also illegal to produce a message that says, whatever you do, don't add one to this, it's an illegal number?

[QUOTE=kriesel;523133]Hmm, is it also illegal to produce a message that says, whatever you do, don't add one to this, it's an illegal number?[/QUOTE]
You're under arrest!
:-D

[url=https://www.apnews.com/4393258ad7e546369420a71798d4874a]Prosecutor: Man body-slammed boy after national anthem snub[/url]
[quote]Brockway, of Superior, Montana, made an initial court appearance Monday on a charge of assault on a minor. Prosecutors recommended his bail be set at $100,000. Court officials said Brockway’s attorney was working Tuesday to recommend conditions that might allow Brockway be released without posting bond.

Brockway is a registered violent offender after being convicted of a 2010 charge of assault with a weapon. District Judge John Larson gave him a 10-year suspended sentence. Brockway is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 14, when he’ll be asked to enter a plea.[/quote]
Pardon my befuddlement about the workings of the legal system, but if this guy has been arrested on a felony charge while still on a suspended sentence, why are they even talking about releasing him?

Jobsworth: n (chiefly British) someone who insists on petty restrictions because "[URL="https://twitter.com/MetFedRep/status/1159371805347504128"]it is more than my job's worth[/URL]" not to do so.

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;523275][URL="https://www.apnews.com/4393258ad7e546369420a71798d4874a"]Prosecutor: Man body-slammed boy after national anthem snub[/URL]

Pardon my befuddlement about the workings of the legal system, but if this guy has been arrested on a felony charge while still on a suspended sentence, why are they even talking about releasing him?[/QUOTE]Your puzzlement is understandable in this case. Perhaps it is because the local pokey is already full beyond nominal capacity and they would need to pay another jurisdiction to hold him for them. Here's a thought; maybe the habitually criminal should be charged rent. I wonder why Brockway is so violent. Maybe previous head trauma? Skull fracture, concussion, bleeding from his ears, sounds like the boy could have been killed. [URL]https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38992393[/URL]

“He certainly didn’t understand it was a crime.” There's a reason lawyer and liar are so phonetically close. [URL]https://heavy.com/news/2019/08/curt-james-brockway/[/URL]
This volitional act too, chosen and performed by Brockway, is being blamed on Trump. "Jasper also told the newspaper he will seek a mental health evaluation for his client. He said his client suffered a brain injury in the past and has trouble with judgment. He said Brockway was not thinking for himself, but was responding to a presidential order to stop those who disrespect the national anthem and America."
"Brockway was sentenced in July 2011 to 10-year suspended sentence. A victim notification request for the 2010 offense is noted on his record. His probation was ended after seven years because of good behavior." Too bad the good behavior did not continue.

[QUOTE=kriesel;523435]This volitional act too, chosen and performed by Brockway, is being blamed on Trump.[/QUOTE]

Blaming one's own misbehavior on others is fun party game for the whole family ... allow me to deal myself in here. I blame Joe Biden, who, as a senator, was the principal author and sponsor of a bill to make it illegal to desecrate the US flag. I also blame Biden for the El Paso shooting ... back in 2006, long before Trump got into politics, Biden [url=https://stream.org/flashback-joe-biden-suggested-building-40-story-fence-stop-flow-drugs/]suggested a 40-story fence along America’s southern border[/url] to stop the inflow of drugs coming through “corrupt Mexico”, with a quote that sounds downright Trumpian:

"And let me tell you something folks, people are driving across that border with tons, tons, hear me, tons of everything from byproducts for methamphetamine to cocaine to heroin and it’s all coming up through corrupt Mexico."

So it's not Trump's fault after all - see how easy that was?

But things are once again veering into politics ... can we all get back to general, apolitical human stupidity and weirdness, please? Politics belongs in the Soap Box.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;523469] "And let me tell you something folks, people are driving across that border with tons, tons, hear me, tons of everything from byproducts for methamphetamine to cocaine to heroin and it’s all coming up through corrupt Mexico."

... can we all get back to general, apolitical human stupidity and weirdness, please? [/QUOTE]Some of the illegal immigrants are acting as drug mules, either because those smuggling them in force it upon them, or because it's their reason for the trip. It's quite a business model for the drug smugglers; get your main customers' government to pay for not only providing price support for your product and eliminating some of your competition, but also provide free return trips for your drug mules. I think the government falling for that combination of roles while much of it actively resists various effective methods of dealing with the problem qualifies as both human stupidity and weirdness. But that also describes a lot of politics.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;523469]But things are once again veering into politics ... can we all get back to general, apolitical human stupidity and weirdness, please? Politics belongs in the Soap Box.[/QUOTE]
Please note, when I posted about our Montana Patriot, no suggestion of a political connection had yet come to light.

There was something in the followup about this which does point to a possible legal defense ("diminished mental capacity" or some such), however: the suspect was in a car crash in 2000 which may have seriously addled his wits. I note, however, that this didn't stop his being convicted for a 2010 assault-with-a-weapon charge, for which he received a 10-year suspended sentence.

It is possible, of course, that at some point the remainder of the nominally 10-year suspended sentence was waived, much as prisoners are often released early for good behavior. However, even if that were true, it would surprise me if he would not be on parole for the remainder of his sentence. And being arrested and charged with assaulting a minor severely enough to concuss him and fracture his skull, leave him bleeding from both ears, and with no memory of what had happened to him, would surely constitute a parole violation. Thus, my befuddlement at the the workings of the legal system continues.

I note that, in regard to the victim's loss of memory of events immediately prior to the attack, a concussion alone is sufficient. I know this from personal experience. When I was 8 years old I was accidentally injured in a swimming pool during a summer vacation with some friends. I was told afterwards that the side of my head hit the side of the pool -- not terribly hard, but in just the right way that I had my bell rung.

The metaphor is apt. The skull serves the role of the bell, and the brain is the clapper. As the physician who examined me explained, I had suffered a [i]contrecoup[/i] injury -- my brain had hit the inside of my skull on the side opposite the impact.

To this day, I have no memory of at least a half hour preceding my accident, or of how I was injured. I have vague memories of briefly coming to in the locker room, and seeing that someone was trying to put my shoes on my feet. I came to for good in the lobby area up a flight of stairs. I saw one of our friends' kids kind of looking at me. It was the weirdest thing. I recognized him as someone I knew, but absolutely could not remember his name. Then, it was off to see the doctor. My head hurt. [i]Bad[/i].

The doctor's examination showed that my reflexes were (temporarily) messed up. He also said a colleague of his had suffered a similar injury at his going-away party after graduating medical school and getting a job somewhere else. He had gotten really drunk at the party, and had ridden a tricycle off the edge of a porch where there was no railing.

He told my mom to keep an eye on me for the rest of the day, and if I started to nod off, get me to the ER right away. Luckily, that did not happen. (Such an occurrence probably would have indicated a subdural hematoma, and would likely have been fatal if not treated.) The next morning, I suffered a wave of nausea, and vomited up a bunch of clear fluid. After that, my only real symptom was a constant headache -- mainly on the side of my head opposite the impact -- which diminished gradually over about two weeks.

Perhaps it is fortunate that I have no memory of my accident. If I did, I might have become fearful of swimming. As it came to pass, swimming turned out to very beneficial for my back. I recommend it to anyone who suffers from lower-back problems.

Re. having one's bell rung, I first heard the medical term [url=en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_contrecoup_injury]contrecoup laceration[/url] (though note it's more commonly in form of a contusion) on an old 1960s [i]Perry Mason[/i] episode. And with NFL preseason having started, there's lots of this sort of thing occurring out on the gridiron. It's the hard-helmet conundrum: when one is packing a fragile object for shipping, the standard recipe is G-force-damping padding surrounding the object, and the whole thing enclosed in a stiff box (shell) for crush resistance. With an American-football-style helmet, one has at most room for around half-inch of padding - otherwise the helmet gets awkwardly big - and the hard shell can't be like a cardboard box, which can locally crumple to absorb impacts. The helmet shell needs to be highly impact-resistant, ergo no "crumple zones", which means it [a] transmits more impact force to the contents than is desirable, and [b] can and is used as a weapon, exacerbating the dangers of [a]. I sometimes wonder if a modern version of the old padded leather helmets wouldn't be better.